One of the special requirements presented in sewing of fabrics into garments and other products is to provide suitable equipment for simultaneously cutting and stitching around closed-end slits for pocket openings and the like. In order to obtain necessary strength as well as a favorable appearance in such locations, the fabric should be stitched along the length of both sides of the slit and past both ends. Equipment for this purpose should include features for simultaneously performing both cutting and stitching in one operation and in all locations with a minimum requirement for manipulation of the fabrics or special equipment.
Prior devices for making stitched slits have used a double-needle chuck supporting a pair of spaced-apart needles arrange, to form a double row of stitches and a knife rigidly mounted in the chuck in fixed relation to the needles so as to cut a slit between the rows of stitches while stitching is in progress. The knife in these devices is normally mounted slightly to the front or rear of the needles and along a line halfway between them. For slits closed at both ends, this arrangement requires a two-step operation to complete the stitching and cutting operation. This is due to the requirement that the stitching should extend past the end of the slit at both ends. With the knife mounted in fixed relation and trailing the needles in the direction in which the fabric is being moved, proper end area stitching would be obtained at only one end because the knife would precede, rather than trail, the needles at the other end. To complete the stitching procedure, manipulation of the fabric as by lifting it and turning it around and/or passing it onto another machine would be required. An improved double-needle chuck assembly that would enable stitching beyond both ends of a closed slit in a single step is desired.